Panasonic's new AG-CX350 camcorder

Bassman2003 said:
Had a look at B&H regarding remote IRIS controls via the LANC port. Pretty slim. This change kind of sucks! I have always had separate controls for zoom and iris on each arm of the tripod for concerts and shows. If it is all on one remote you will be constantly taking one hand off the tripod arm to adjust the iris. Not cool unless there is a way to reliably split the signal to feed two controllers.
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I often work the same way so am interested in this.

FWIW, have you sourced the options for the Panny zoom-iris lately. Varizooms offerings are the only option left I believe. Shame too, since the Manfrotto 521PF for controlling both focus and iris really has worked well for me. For zoom control on a tripod I have been using this:

http://www.manfrotto.com.br/remote-control-for-panasonic.html

You can find both on eBay if you are patient.
 
Hey Mitch,

Will this camera support 10bit 4:2:2 in FHD H.265.
I can't see this option in the BH specs sheet.
 
I was happy to get away from fixed lens cameras after so many years shooting the DVX100, HVX200, HPX170 but after a few years with full frame DSLRs, and now digital cinema cameras (C100, C200, C300 MKII) I can see and have experienced that fixed lens cameras can be a VERY useful tool in many run & gun and adverse shooting conditions where having a large imagers makes nailing and keeping focus a PITA and it can be really nice to have a servo lens zoom in these same situations. A friend of mine rented the XF-705 last week and really liked it, same friend owns the HPX-270 and we always wished for a 4K verison of the HPX-270 and now it exists. This camera looks lt delivers the goods everywhere with the exception of no Log but then again, the types of shoots one would use these for don't typically need to be shot Log. We used the Canon XF-405s on our documentary last year and even though that camera is missing a lot of things for pro level production, if you bend to it a bit, it's a very useful little camera that can shoot 4K 60p.
 
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ggrantly said:
I often work the same way so am interested in this.

FWIW, have you sourced the options for the Panny zoom-iris lately. Varizooms offerings are the only option left I believe. Shame too, since the Manfrotto 521PF for controlling both focus and iris really has worked well for me. For zoom control on a tripod I have been using this:

http://www.manfrotto.com.br/remote-control-for-panasonic.html

You can find both on eBay if you are patient.
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I have been using the Manfrotto zoom only controllers as well as Libecs. There really are not many iris controllers on the market. Panasonic's separation of the two ports made the possibility of iris control more available. Like I pointed out before, having it all on one hand is not the best live event setup but there are hardly any choices anyway. Surprised Panasonic went this direction and chopped us off at the knees.

This might sound like a small issue for some, but this could be difference of me buying one or multiple CX350s. Since the hardware is set in stone, it looks like the way forward. Mitch, if you have any way to contact that division, at least let them know this move is viewed as a negative for live event shooters. Still looks like a great camera though.
 
Wonder if we will see a HC... prosumer version without SDI, timecode and Ethernet connections. That would be much more interesting to me and should reduce the cost too much like the difference between the UX180 and HC-X1
 
firehawk said:
I was going by the specs on the B&H site:

UX180
EVF Resolution 2,360,000 Dots
LCD Screen Resolution 1,150,000 Dots

CX350
EVF Resolution 1,770,000 Dots
LCD Screen Resolution 1,370,000 Dots

It would have been great if the CX350 had better resolution like the DVX200.
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Looks like B&H may have over-rated the UX180 there; below from Panasonic's material (though who knows if this is 100% final, I guess). Agree that it's better to have a usable screen than require something external, though for event work on sticks my operators tend to prefer a 7" external with tally.

UX180
LCD Monitor:
3.5 type, Approx. 1,150,000 dots
Viewfinder:
Approx. 2,360,000 dots, video display area: approx. 1,770,000 dots

CX350
LCD Monitor:
3.5 type TFTLCD color monitor (3:2), approx. 1,620,000 dots, Touch panel, video display (16:9) area: Approx. 1,370,000 dots
Viewfinder:
0.39 type OLED (organic EL display), approx. 2,360,000 dots, video display (16:9) area: approx. 1,770,000 dots

FWIW, PX270 as came up in earlier discussion
LCD Monitor:
3.5 type QHD color monitor (Approx. 1,560,000 dots)
Viewfinder:
0.5 type OLED (organic EL display), (Approx. 2,360,000 dots, video display area: Approx. 1,770,000 dots)

and DVX200
LCD Monitor:
4.3 type HD color monitor (Approx. 2,760,000 dots)
Viewfinder:
0.39 type OLED (organic EL display), (Approx. 2,360,000 dots, video display area: Approx. 1,770,000 dots)
 
Greg Smith said:
Pretty easy problem to solve with an adapter like this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/774394-REG/QUE_AUDIO_QAD2_QAD2_1_8_3_5mm_to.html
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Just keep in mind that this is ONLY for self powered 3.5mm mics, if you turn on 48 volt phantom you will fry your 3.5mm mic. ( lav mics with 3.5mm jacks often require "plug-in power" which is only 3-5 volts )

There are XLR adapters that convert 48 volt phantom to 3 volt "plug-in power" like this new one from Deity.
 
ycp said:
Will this camera support 10bit 4:2:2 in FHD H.265.
I can't see this option in the BH specs sheet.
Click to expand...

There is a list of the recording formats on page 4 of the CX350 brochure PDF:
https://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/sales_o/broch_pdf/ag-cx350.pdf

From the chart, it looks like HEVC (H.265) recording is only available for recording in UHD (2160p). All of the HD recording formats use AVC (H.264) compression, but 10-bit 4:2:2 encoding is supported for 1080p recording at several different bitrates.
 
Darn if I don't really like this... in addition to a few "cinematic" projects this last year (and I'm using "cinematic" rather loosely) I did a couple of bill-paying, rather stodgy industrials, and at pretty much every b-roll location I was missing the all-in-one convenience of my old EX1... this ticks all the boxes and is priced very attractively. There's a time and place for every tool, and I really hate to admit how often I want that smaller-sensor-nailed-focus confidence I used to have. The wider end FOV is a big deal to me... don't want to mess around with wide angle adapters.

I'd like to see a few more image samples in time, but well done Panasonic!
 
jwyatt said:
Looks like B&H may have over-rated the UX180 there; below from Panasonic's material (though who knows if this is 100% final, I guess). Agree that it's better to have a usable screen than require something external, though for event work on sticks my operators tend to prefer a 7" external with tally.

I agree, if I am on stix and have time, I'll set up a monitor and am glad to have it. But I sure don't want to be compelled to just to get focus. I waited a long time before upgrading to the 270 and one of the reasons was all the previous Panny Handycams had terrible VF's and flip outs. The 270 is really good in this regard. Looks like the new cam will be something a little less.
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https://www.redsharknews.com/produc...-panasonic-s-astonishingly-capable-new-camera

For those people like me who have been hoping for a dual ISO mode that would boost low light capabilities in manner similar to what was seen in the GH5s here is a quote from Redshark that hints at such a feature, but more like that found in the high end EVA1 and Varicams.:

"It is based around a new 1 inch 4K MOS sensor supporting UHD, HD and SD. It’s “high sensitivity” option seems to work in similar fashion to the dual sensitivity sensors seen in Panasonic cinema oriented EVA-1 and VariCam cameras. It seems to add 1 to 2 stops of sensor sensitivity when selected without any image degradation or artifacting."

Barry, do you know anything about this? If this is true what are the dual native ISOs? This information will go a long way in determining how versatile this camera will be. Will the camera require manually choosing between the different base ISOs?

Also, do you know anything about the AF?
 
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ggrantly said:
jwyatt said:
Looks like B&H may have over-rated the UX180 there; below from Panasonic's material (though who knows if this is 100% final, I guess). Agree that it's better to have a usable screen than require something external, though for event work on sticks my operators tend to prefer a 7" external with tally.

I agree, if I am on stix and have time, I'll set up a monitor and am glad to have it. But I sure don't want to be compelled to just to get focus. I waited a long time before upgrading to the 270 and one of the reasons was all the previous Panny Handycams had terrible VF's and flip outs. The 270 is really good in this regard. Looks like the new cam will be something a little less.
Click to expand...

This is why I never want "pro" cameras to be priced too low. The makers have to cut costs and that results in a lesser user experience. When I saw the price of $3,600 I thought "what is going to be the compromise"? That is $2,000 less than the PX270.
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For Vloggers and static setups where the speaker wants to see their image as it records, it appears that the flip screen LCD is obscured by the lens hood when it is flipped forward.
 
philiplipetz said:
https://www.redsharknews.com/produc...-panasonic-s-astonishingly-capable-new-camera

For those people like me who have been hoping for a dual ISO mode that would boost low light capabilities in manner similar to what was seen in the GH5s here is a quote from Redshark that hints at such a feature, but more like that found in the high end EVA1 and Varicams.:

"It is based around a new 1 inch 4K MOS sensor supporting UHD, HD and SD. It’s “high sensitivity” option seems to work in similar fashion to the dual sensitivity sensors seen in Panasonic cinema oriented EVA-1 and VariCam cameras. It seems to add 1 to 2 stops of sensor sensitivity when selected without any image degradation or artifacting."

Barry, do you know anything about this? If this is true what are the dual native ISOs? This information will go a long way in determining how versatile this camera will be. Will the camera require manually choosing between the different base ISOs?

Also, do you know anything about the AF?
Click to expand...

I know some things but not everything yet. I can say that this is the first Panasonic that feels like the HPX170 used to feel -- it's dang near perfect. But my experience is limited so far.

As for the dual ISO, I can't answer definitely but I don't think it is the same type of thing as the EVA, it isn't structured in the menus the way the EVA's is. Instead it is similar to the DVX200, in that it has a "HIGH SENS" menu option that really boosts sensitivity. I haven't had the chance to conduct testing but my seat of the pants guess is that the native sensitivity is around 1,000 ISO, and the HIGH SENS pushes that to at least 2000. It may very well be a true dual native system and just using the DVX's nomenclature, I don't know yet.
 
philiplipetz said:
For Vloggers and static setups where the speaker wants to see their image as it records, it appears that the flip screen LCD is obscured by the lens hood when it is flipped forward.
Click to expand...

I will have to test that scenario but I don't think that's the case. And if it is, you can remove the lens shade as a potential option. I have flipped the LCD around and don't recall the hood blocking the view, but I didn't go stand in a stand-up position and view from that angle.
 
Barry thank you.

After moving to "cinema" cameras, and discovering that the term "cinema camera" at the low end really means stripped down cameras that require a suitcase of add ons, and even then are hard to use for run and gun, I have been waiting for an all in one camera with acceptable low light (it doesn't have to light up the night, just record an average indoor room) and decent AF. I used to shoot on all in one ENG cameras and remember them fondly. The CX350 looks like it hits the button on size and features. A modern EX1. I hope it is that so we can order several. And then I can clear out an equipment room over flowing with rigs and all of the other stuff I needed to do events and ENG with cinema cameras designed for single shots with long preparation times. I hate walking into that room. Recently I was asked to do a job with a client's Canon XF105, and I forgot what a joy it was to shoot with a decently designed camera, one designed to make it easy to optimize and shoot. The CX350 looks much better.


Please do not let the CX350 be a disappointment like the DVX200. I so wanted to love that camera.
 
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